Galleria Gwanggyo Wins 1st Place Worldwide in Versailles Architecture Award for 'Shopping Mall'

Galleria Gwanggyo.

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Galleria Department Store announced on the 30th that Galleria Gwanggyo was selected as the world's No. 1 in the 'Shopping Mall' category of the UNESCO-sponsored '2021 Prix Versailles,' marking the first time for Korea.

The 'Prix Versailles' is an architectural design award that started in France in 2015 and is held at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. Every year, it selects works that harmonize with culture and nature in the fields of ▲architecture ▲interior ▲exterior from buildings worldwide. The award selects the best work in each of the eight categories: ▲shopping malls ▲airports ▲schools ▲transport facilities ▲sports facilities ▲hotels ▲shops ▲restaurants.

The Prix Versailles selected the best shopping mall works from six continents, and among the six selected shopping malls, Galleria Gwanggyo was chosen as the world's No. 1 work. Competitors against Galleria Gwanggyo included ▲'Deniz Mall' in Azerbaijan ▲'Phoenix Palassio' in India ▲'Sommel Market' in the United States.

The company explained that the building was highly evaluated for laying the foundation for sustainable development by embodying the importance of communication and interconnection in ecology, social relations, and culture among buildings worldwide.

Galleria Gwanggyo opened in March last year with a unique exterior and design rarely seen in other department stores. Galleria Gwanggyo features an exterior shaped like a cross-section pattern of a massive rock layer, with a glass corridor made of triangular glass spiraling around all floors from the entrance. Breaking the convention of department stores having no windows, it utilized the glass corridor called 'Galleria Roof' to bring light to every floor.

A Galleria official said, "This award is significant as it recognizes Galleria Gwanggyo as a globally acclaimed architectural landmark representing not only the southern Gyeonggi region but also Korea."

Meanwhile, Galleria Gwanggyo won the Excellence Award at the '2020 Korea Architecture Culture Awards' last year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.